ZAGREB, 7 May 2022 - Two civil society demonstrations were held in the northern city of Varaždin on Saturday - a Walk for Life and a counter-demonstration called Saturday for Freedom.

At the same time, a Walk for Life was also held in the eastern cities of Vinkovci and Slavonski Brod, and the head of the In the Name of Family NGO, Željka Markić, joined the Varaždin march.

"I think it is important that we convey the message that it has been scientifically confirmed that human life begins at conception, that an unborn child's heart starts beating on the 18th day, that a child in the womb feels pain, smiles and swallows. These are all important scientific facts," Markić said. "We should build a society of tolerance and life," she added.

Silvija Svoren, coordinator of the Walk for Life in Varaždin, said that they support life from birth to natural death. "That means that we are always for life. That is our focus. We fight for the unborn child and its mother, for the family."

The Saturday for Freedom gathering was organised by the local youth association V.U.K., whose president Lea Labaš said they had gathered to protect women's and human rights.

"We believe that every woman has the right to her own body and the right to choose," Labaš said. "We, of course, must also think about the future because some of us may find themselves in that awful situation when they will need empathy and we want everyone to be able to exercise this right."

The Walk for Life was joined by Ladislav Ilčić, a Croatian member of the European Parliament, who said that Croatia needs young people and children for economic growth.

"If we want higher pensions, we need young people who will pay into pension funds. If we want personal happiness, children can help a lot in that regard. I think all politicians should support this," Ilčić said.

MP Natalija Martinčević supported the Saturday for Freedom rally, criticising doctors who invoked conscientious objection in the case of Mirela Čavajda, a pregnant woman who has applied for a termination of the pregnancy because of the poor condition of her baby.

"I respect their right to conscientious objection, but in their own time in their own private clinics. When they are paid with government money, they should respect the laws of Croatia," Martinčević said.

Between 500 and 1,000 people are estimated to have participated in the Walk for Life, while the Saturday for Freedom attracted far fewer demonstrators.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

April 27, 2022 - About 10 tons of humanitarian aid, food, and hygiene supplies were delivered to the residents of the Chernivtsi region of Ukraine, with which Varaždin County has friendly relations.

Varaždin County said that on the eve of Easter, according to the Julian calendar, humanitarian aid was delivered through the border crossing at the Romanian-Ukrainian border, to the Olimpia humanitarian aid depot in the city of Chernivtsi, reports HRT News.

Groceries and supplies were delivered thanks to citizens, local governments, and companies that, after the appeal of Varaždin County Prefect Anđelko Stričak, in just a few days, donated ten tons of groceries with a longer shelf life and hygiene supplies.

In addition to Varaždin County, aid was collected by: Varaždin, Varaždinske Toplice and Lepoglava and the municipalities of Petrijanec, Trnovec Bartolovečki, Cestica, Sračinec, Beretinec, Gornji Kneginec, Breznica, Breznički Hum, Mali Bukovec and Veliki Bukovec. The companies Ivančica, Hudek-Trgotrans, Siga, Krešimir Futura, Helcom Trade, Trgograd - BP Šilec and Nika konstrukcije also joined the initiative.

The city of Chernivtsi is the capital and largest city in the Chernivtsi region of Ukraine, the region with which Varaždin County signed a Cooperation Agreement in 2013.

Prefect Anđelko Stričak thanked everyone who responded to brighten up the Easter holidays to friends in Ukraine.

- As the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Croatia Vasil Kirilich informed us, who asked for help, today the region is a temporary residence of many Ukrainians from war parts of that country, so they urgently needed help, primarily in the form of long-term food duration, stressed Uncle.

As the devastation of the war in Ukraine does not stop, the Varaždin prefect announced that he would organize the collection of humanitarian aid for a friendly region in Ukraine in cooperation with cities and municipalities, and companies in the coming months.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

March 29, 2022 - The young Croatia national team recorded their first defeat in the U21 Euro qualifiers on Tuesday, losing 2-3 to Finland in Varaždin. 

The U21 Croatia national football team recorded its first defeat in Group A of the Euro qualifiers. Finland celebrated 3-2 in Varaždin. 

Already after the first half, Finland shocked Croatia with three goals, with their hero being Naatan Skyttae. Finland took the lead in the 11th minute when Croatia goalkeeper Kotarski made a mistake, and Skyttae scored for 1-0.

The same player increased Finland's lead to 2-0 in the 29th minute, while he also assisted during stoppage time for Ablade to make it 3-0 for Finland at the half.

Croatia showed almost nothing in the first 45 minutes, while they played visibly better in the second half. In the 68th minute, Roko Šimić failed to score a penalty which was saved by the Finland goalkeeper Sinisalo, though not all hope was lost. Only two minutes later, Josip Šutalo scored a close-range header for 1-3.

The young Croatia side pressed until the end and found new hope in the 87th minute when Toni Fruk shot from the top of the penalty area and reduced the score to 2-3. But by the end, the result had not changed. Thus, after six victories, the Croatia U21 side recorded a draw (Austria 0-0) and a defeat (Finland 2-3) in the last week during the U21 Euro qualifiers. 

Fortunately, Igor Bišćan's team received good news from the Austria-Norway match, with Austria winning 2-1. Croatia thus kept a four-point advantage over Norway, while Austria has three points more than Norway in second place, but also a game less.

Croatia will still play against Norway (June 3) and Estonia (June 8). Only the winner of the group will qualify directly for the 2023 Euros.

European Championship Qualifiers, U21 (Group A):

Standings

1. Croatia 8 6 1 1 19-7 19
2. Austria 9 5 1 3 20-10 16
3. Norway 7 5 0 2 19-7 15
4. Finland 7 4 1 2 12-9 13
5. Azerbaijan 7 1 1 5 6-19 4
6. Estonia 8 0 0 8 0-23 0

Source: HRT

To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

ZAGREB, 27 March 2022 - This year's Walk for Life will be held in ten cities across Croatia on Sundays in May and June, a news conference heard in Osijek on Sunday.

Representatives of the civic group "Walk for Life, Family and Croatia" told reporters that marches would be held in Vinkovci, Varaždin and Slavonski Brod on 7 May, in Zagreb on 14 May, in Split and Imotski on 21 May, in Zadar and Ploče on 28 May, and in Osijek and Sisak on 11 June.

Lidija Blagojević of the civic group said that the Walk for Life was a peaceful walk for every human life from conception to natural death, for the protection of unborn children and their mothers, and for the protection of every family.

The national coordinator of the Walk for Life, Željka Markić, said this year's campaign was taking place in the context of a horrible war in Ukraine, noting that many volunteers of the Walk for Life initiative were involved in collecting aid and providing accommodation for Ukrainian refugees.

"The killing of people we have been witnessing every day makes us particularly sensitive to the need to build the culture of life and fight for every human life, from its beginning to its end", Markić said.

For more, check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

March the 18th, 2022 - A dose of expertise from the Varazdin FOI has found its place in the distant Maldives as the Varazdin Faculty of Organisation and Informatics (FOI) has implemented an e-learning system with project partners called AMED - Advancing Higher Education in the Maldives Through E-learning Development.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, this is a project in which Varazdin's FOI has been providing expertise for the last three years to introduce an e-learning model to the National University of the Indian Ocean Islands, which really needed such a system due to its poor traffic and network connectivity over more than 200 islands.

The project started back in 2019, is fully funded by the Erasmus + programme of the European Commission in the amount of 720,592 euros, and its main goal is to strengthen capacities and dissemination of knowledge in higher education. So far, almost all of the project activities have been carried out involving more than 50 participants from the University of the Maldives (MNU).

They participated in various fields of education there through a developed study programme with the aim of capacity building and training for the application of online teaching. A study programme in four modules has been developed and will be accredited to be made available for the future training of teachers and other staff at MNU and after the completion of the AMED project.

This week, project partners from the Maldives, the Open University of Catalonia and the Croatian Academic and Research Network (CARNET) are in Varazdin to present examples of good practice in implementing e-learning and applying new technologies and distance learning models.

"Within the project, we worked on raising the strategic approach to the introduction of e-learning and developed a unique strategic document that will enable the University of the Maldives to further develop its e-learning," said the project manager and vice dean at the Varazdin FOI, Prof.Dr. Igor Balaban.

Experts from FOI Varazdin and CARNET organised so-called job shadowing that enables the transfer of good practice in the organisation and implementation of e-education/learning to the Maldivian education system.

"A total of sixteen of our representatives from various sectors of the Maldives National University are participating in the presentations and workshops in the field of e-learning to improve the existing processes in our institution," explained the project manager at MNU, Shimna Shakeeb. The equipment for the implementation and further development of e-learning in the Maldives worth 200,000 euros was also procured and installed.

"Many of our teachers weren't familiar with this type of technology and we're glad that after this project, our university will be making even more progress in terms of technological development," said Vice-Rector of the National University of the Maldives, Dr. Mohamed Shareef.

Today, the Varazdin FOI will also host the final conference of the DIP2Future project, which aims to develop educational programmes, qualification standards and occupational standards in the field of ICT, and which brings with it four new study programmes: Data Technology and Artificial Intelligence, Systems Management Information Security and Privacy, Distributed and Interactive Systems and Business Systems Transformation and Innovation Management.

For more, check out Made in Croatia.

March 15, 2022 - The Croatia handball team has gathered in Varaždin to prepare for the upcoming 2023 World Championship qualifiers against Finland.

In the week when European national teams will play the first round of qualifications for the 2023 World Championships hosted by Sweden and Poland, the Croatia men's senior handball team will train in Varaždin. The national team gathered on Monday at 11:00 am at the Westin Hotel and, after antigen testing, extended their trip to the Turist Hotel in Varaždin, where they will stay until Sunday, March 20.

Coach Hrvoje Horvat invited 22 players to this gathering. But, due to injuries, Marin Šipić, Ivan Martinović, and Marko Mamić dropped out of the lineup, so there will be 19 players in Varaždin. The coach has not invited anyone from the list of reserves, which includes ten players.

Several players on this list missed the European Championships in Hungary for various reasons. There are also many young talented players, some of whom we saw in significant roles at the last big competition and some that will get the opportunity to prove themselves to the coach for a potential spot on the next list before the 2023 World Championship qualifiers against Finland 

In addition to the coach and his first associate Ivan Balić, there are several new professional staff members. Ivan Stevanović, or "Stivi," is the new goalkeeper coach. Šime Tomašević has been appointed fitness trainer. The new/old physiotherapists are Željko Kercel and Filip Šimunović. Along with psychologist Sivia Juratovac, who has been working with the A national team for some time, the new doctor with Krešimir Rotim is Domagoj Gajski, who has been with the women's team for years.

Croatia player list 

1. MARIN ŠEGO – MONTPELLIER HB
2. MATEJ MANDIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
3. DOMINIK KUZMANOVIĆ – RK NEXE
4. DAVID MANDIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
5. MARIN JELINIĆ – RK NEXE
6. IVAN ĆUPIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
7. VLADO MATANOVIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
8. FILIP PERIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
9. ŽELJKO MUSA – RK PPD ZAGREB
10. MARINO MARIĆ – MT MELSUNGEN
11. VERON NAČINOVIĆ – MONTPELLIER HB
12. DOMAGOJ DUVNJAK – THW KIEL
13. LUKA CINDRIĆ – BARCA
14. IGOR KARAČIĆ – LOMZA VIVE KIELCE
15. HALIL JAGANJAC – RK NEXE
16. TIN LUČIN – ORLEN WISLA PLOCK
17. LUKA ŠEBETIĆ – HC MOTOR
18. MATEO MARAŠ – HC EUROFARM PELISTER
19. LUKA LOVRE KLARICA – RK PPD ZAGREB

Reserve players 

1. LEON ŠUŠNJA – ORLEN WISLA PLOCK
2. FILIP VISTOROP – RK PPD ZAGREB
3. DAVOR ĆAVAR – RK PPD ZAGREB
4. JOSIP BOŽIĆ PAVLETIĆ – HC EUROFARM PELISTER
5. LOVRO MIHIĆ – ORLEN WISLA PLOCK
6. JAKOV GOJUN – RK PPD ZAGREB
7. IVAN PEŠIĆ – TVB 1898 STUTTGART
8. MATE ŠUNJIĆ – US IVRY HANDBALL
9. KRISTIAN PILIPOVIĆ – KADETTEN SCHAUFFHAUSEN
10. JOSIP ŠARAC – FRISCH AUF GöPPINGEN

Coaching staff 

1. HRVOJE HORVAT, COACH
2. IVANO BALIĆ, TRAINER
3. IVAN STEVANOVIĆ, GOALKEEPER COACH
4. ŠIME TOMAŠEVIĆ, CONDITIONING TRAINER
5. ŽELJKO KERCEL, PHYSIO
6. FILIP ŠIMUNOVIĆ, PHYSIO
7. SILVIA JURATOVAC, MT THERAPIST
8. KREŠIMIR ROTIM, DOCTOR
9. DOMAGOJ GAJSKI, DOCTOR
10. IVICA UDOVIČIĆ, NATIONAL TEAM DIRECTOR
11. IVICA MARAŠ, SPOKESPERSON AND TEAM MANAGER
12. ZDRAVKO MIRILOVIĆ, TECHNICAL

Source: HRS

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

ZAGREB, 10 March 2022 - The Varaždin Faculty of Organisation and Informatics said on Thursday it had joined the #ScienceForUkraine initiative due to the catastrophic consequences of the Ukraine war on its academic community.

As part of the University of Zagreb, the Faculty joined the international scientific community's social media initiative to collect information about universities, scientific institutions, and other organizations within the system that can be of help to Ukrainian students and researchers.

The Faculty, present in four northwestern Croatian cities - Varaždin, Sisak, Zabok, and Križevci - is offering help to all Ukrainian students, teachers, and researchers with whom the University of Zagreb has bilateral cooperation.

The help envisages free continuation of education in Croatian or English, the possibility of completing part of the studies at the Faculty (student exchange programme), performing professional practice, involvement in teaching and research projects, and psychological counseling.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

January 13, 2022 - So where was the most beautiful Advent in Croatia in 2021? The results are in, and a celebration of Slavonia, Full of Life. 

I am still smiling from my 6-day trip to Slavonia and eastern Croatia back in November. Such an incredible, action-packed trip, and I genuinely think it was my most enjoyable week exploring of my 18 years in Croatia. 

In Slavonia.

In November. 

Osijek in particular opened my eyes to a truth that they are not telling you in Zagreb - that Slavonia is actually VERY Full of Life. Or perhaps they don't know. This is entirely possible when the Croatian National Tourist Board publishes 'promotional' articles on inflight magazines and cannot even find the right river that flows through Osijek. Read more in A Slavonian Geography Lesson for the Croatian National Tourist Board.

You can read about the magic of eastern Croatia and our 6-day trip in Time to Tell the Truth about Slavonia Full of Life. I encourage the Kings to read it as well - they might learn a few things about Croatian tourism in the east. 

Thankfully, Slavonia does not have to rely solely on the Croatian National Tourist Board to get its message across, and a very nice bit of PR, powered by the voice of the people, as Osijek has been voted the Most Beautiful Advent in Croatia 2021.

The vote, organised by the website Gradonacelnik.hr (the Croatian word for Mayor) held a 9-day poll of Advent in Croatia in 44 cities and towns, but there was only one winner with the most likes - Osijek. 

Closely followed by another continental Advent in Croatia - Varazdin. I visited both last month, and both were very impressive. 

And with Vinkovci in third and Slavonski Brod in fourth, it was a strong showing for continental and eastern Croatia. Having travelled a lot around Croatia, I can honestly say that the Advents away from the coast in general have a lot more soul, and apart from Zagreb, no other city comes close for winter living and life than Osijek. 

There is a LOT of ignorance about what can be found in eastern Croatia, both in Zagreb and the rest of the county. There is SO much more to the east than war, Vukovar, and emigration. It is time that that story was told in full. Small little awards like this are one tiny step in that direction. Congrats to all concerned. 

To learn more about Osijek, check out the Total Croatia Osijek in a Page guide. 

December the 31st, 2021 - Croatia is certainly no stranger to international film crews, with Game of Thrones (GoT) placing the City of Dubrovnik very firmly on the global filming map, and the likes of Star Wars doing the same. What about continental Croatia, however? The Fiddler on the Roof had scenes filmed there, but that was a long time ago. The Indians now have their eyes on possibly filming Varazdin for various scenes.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes, this charming Northern Croatian city, which has the Trash Film Festival and Vafi - an international festival of animated films for children and youth, definitely has a friendly relationship with the world of film, and with the founding of the Varazdin Film Office, its goal is to promote the city as being film friendly.

In addition, Varazdin aims to become a desirable location for filming movies, series, commercials, videos and other such productions. Lana Velimirovic Vukalovic, the director of the Varazdin Public Open University, which founded the Office back in 2017 with the support of the City of Varazdin, recently had an online meeting with the Indian company Europa Media & Entertainment at the Focus 2021 international event in London. This company usually represents film locations in Mumbai (Bombay). How did it turn out?

"Indian producers are showing great interest in filming in Croatia. Through the exchange of emails, we'll present Varazdin and its surroundings in more detail as potential film backdrops,'' pointed out Velimirovic Vukalovic. In February 2022, a producer from Mumbai is due to arrive to look into potentially filming Varazdin.

"What I expect from this visit is the promotion of the city of Varazdin and the entire county, not only in terms of potential locations for filming, but also in terms of tourism. We talked about the possibility of bringing Instagrammers from India here who would document and photograph our region on their profiles.

We want to launch a series of activities related to the creative industries in POU, so I suggested a guest from India to give lectures in Varazdin on the topic of Bollywood and to show his two feature films in the Gaj city cinema,'' revealed the director.

The Varazdin Film Office takes on a dual role, the first being to be a contact point for all film crews in the city, along with the Tourist Board and the City, and the second to help teams find suitable locations for filming Varazdin and elsewhere, to connect them with site owners and so on… The office can ''direct'' economic opportunities as well, especially for local SMEs.

"In the case of larger production projects, they can be involved in providing their services, for example through the accommodation of camera crews, catering and hospitality, hairdressing, make-up artists, and so forth,'' explained Velimirovic Vukalovic. Currently, the Office is supporting one Croatian production company in its search for a place for a film with scenes from the middle of the nineteenth century.

"The goal is to attract filmmakers from Croatia, the region and the rest of the world. In this sense, we'll be able to explore the possibilities of designing incentive models for production companies with support provided by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre. Therefore, in the future, we want to connect the Varazdin Film Office with the Centre for Creative Industries, which we plan to develop in cooperation with the City of Varazdin.

The plan is to map the creative industries across the entire county and we've already started forming a working group. We'll see to what extent we can include activities related to the film industry in this domain, but a holistic approach would certainly make sense. It's crucial that in 2022 we implement the annual plan - drafting regulations on the Office, updating the website with information on services throughout the city, and additional networking with important stakeholders in the film industry at home and abroad,'' she concluded.

For more, check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 12 Dec 2021 - The HRK 4.4 billion (€586 million) project of the Lepoglava Rail Junction aimed at improving the railway connectivity of three northern counties -- Međimurje, Varaždin, and Krapina-Zagorje -- with the City of Zagreb has recently been presented in the city of Varaždin.

The purpose of the project is to boost the railway connections between key railway stations in central Europe and Zagreb, provide passengers with the shortest railway routes in the region, and offer fast and eco-friendly travel by rail.

Marko Car, an engineer of the Croatian Railways' HŽ Infrastruktura, said that the project envisaged the upgrade of 70 kilometers of the existing rail lines and the construction of an additional 20 kilometers of lines for the junction.

The implementation of the EU-funded project can take 20 years.

The selected 92-kilometer-long route, which includes nine railway stations and 17 train stops, and two tunnels, will make it possible for trains to develop a speed up to 120 kilometers per hour. 

The preparation of the necessary documentation will cost HRK 6.7 million (€890,000).

As much as 85% of the total project is being financed from the 2014-2020 Operational Program Competitiveness and Cohesion.

The study documentation has been drawn up by the consortium comprising ŽPD, Granova, Institut IGH, and Rijekaprojekt.

 For more, check out our dedicated politics section.